2023 Cup of China Men's Free Skate

[YuBluByMe]

Next week promises a blood bath for the remaining GPF places.

Tell me about it. Yamamoto falling off left things open a bit as there’s still four spots left instead of three, but it’s still possible that whoever’s first alternate will have 24 points (i.e, Silver + Bronze) and that’s crazy.

A lot of things will settle next week, but there’s four contenders. Cha Junhwan can’t make the final himself, but he can play spoiler if he’s on the podium in any position. And if he doesn’t medal and any of Aymoz, Rizzo, Miura, or Sato are on the podium in any order…oh boy. Heartbreaking tiebreakers are going to come into play this year.

 

[icewhite]

Don't get me wrong, I think the podium is exactly right here and I'm not trying to start another one of these debates, I'm just genuinely baffled. Shaidorov got a q on his opening 4Lz and his second half 4T and 3A. I just rewatched his free and even in the slow-mo these jumps look clean as a whistle to me. Any more rotation and he would overrotate and not be able to land them anymore. Are those calls a bit harsh or have I entered blinded fan-girl territory?

I don't think they are clean as a whistle but the calls are harsh. I would have called them clean...

 

[YuBluByMe]

Don't get me wrong, I think the podium is exactly right here and I'm not trying to start another one of these debates, I'm just genuinely baffled. Shaidorov got a q on his opening 4Lz and his second half 4T and 3A. I just rewatched his free and even in the slow-mo these jumps look clean as a whistle to me. Any more rotation and he would overrotate and not be able to land them anymore. Are those calls a bit harsh or have I entered blinded fan-girl territory?

You’re not a blind fangirl. The 4Lz, 4T, and 3A are clean. The podium is correct, but Shaidorov should’ve been second in the free and Uno’s total score should be closer to his.

 

[TontoK]

The calling and the judges' GOE at this competition are puzzles I cannot solve.

I've only seen the men, so I don't know if there were similar situations in the other events.

 

[cailuj365]

Both Adam and Shoma took a little while to get settled, but Shoma's skating is just so gorgeous. I could just watch him skate forever. I don't want this to be a swan song! I actually like his LP music. It's a decrescendo into what could be the final stage of his long career.

Adam is skating like a champion this season. Consistency is what keeps people on the top of the podium as they build reputation even if there are small mistakes (e.g. the positive GOEs on squeaky landings here). I like the overall choreography, and that giant aerial is such a moment. He has flair. If he adds a second quad lutz in the free, I think he could be unstoppable.

Shaidorov just needs to stay consistent too. Also completely puzzled by his q calls, especially on the 4Lz. Over time, he'll eventually get the GOEs and less rotation calls. He needs to work on the step sequences though. Level 2s in both SP and LP.

 

[lariko]

And, the cake! We tried our best to dress it up to match Shaidorov's costume!

Domi Sotto on Instagram

7 likes, 0 comments - domisotto on November 11, 2023

www.instagram.com

 

[icewhite]

I'm surprised how many people like Shoma's free, I think after the first third it's absolutely terrible.

 

[Lutzedge]

Adam's consistency is really impressive this season.

 

[lariko]

Don't get me wrong, I think the podium is exactly right here and I'm not trying to start another one of these debates, I'm just genuinely baffled. Shaidorov got a q on his opening 4Lz and his second half 4T and 3A. I just rewatched his free and even in the slow-mo these jumps look clean as a whistle to me. Any more rotation and he would overrotate and not be able to land them anymore. Are those calls a bit harsh or have I entered blinded fan-girl territory?

His jumps look fully rotated to me particularly next to Adam's landings of the same 2 jumps. But at least it's q not UR like in Canada. If he makes GPF, by some weirdness in Finland--i doubt it though--I can see his rotation 'improving'. I feel his rotations were mostly impacted by Boyang's podium potential in the short, and by the grave concern for silver in the free.

Where Shaidorov not from Kazakhstan, he should have been in the mix for GPF.

 

[lariko]

Tell me about it. Yamamoto falling off left things open a bit as there’s still four spots left instead of three, but it’s still possible that whoever’s first alternate will have 24 points (i.e, Silver + Bronze) and that’s crazy.

Popcorn event!!!

 

[cailuj365]

I'm surprised how many people like Shoma's free, I think after the first third it's absolutely terrible.

I think I had no hate left to give after his SP.
I really, really do not like the SP.

 

[noskates]

I really like Shoma's free - I think it's one of the best choreography to come from Stephane in a while. Adam skated lights out but I still feel like a clean Shoma will best him. At any rate, it's going to be a fun rivalry. I just wonder how Ilia is going to fare with these two. If all of them skate clean...........whoa! My favorite program of the competition, however, was Boyang Jin. Loved his music, loved the choreography, and felt sad that he didn't skate better. He's always been a showman. Overall I thought it was a good competition but, like others, was curious about how some of the judging made sense.

 

[yuumagical]

And, the cake! We tried our best to dress it up to match Shaidorov's costume!

Domi Sotto on Instagram

7 likes, 0 comments - domisotto on November 11, 2023

www.instagram.com

The cake looks tasty, glad you're having a fun time celebrating! Also, the idea of pairing Carmina Burana with cake photos is unexpectedly brilliant! The cake can now star in any number of action movies! It is a cake that could either save the world or destroy it!

No, I couldn't get back to sleep after Cup of China ended....

 

[Crowdproud]

.... Shaidorov just needs to stay consistent too. Also completely puzzled by his q calls, especially on the 4Lz. Over time, he'll eventually get the GOEs and less rotation calls. He needs to work on the step sequences though. Level 2s in both SP and LP.

I think Shaidorov could benefit by competing more, both to gain ranking points and get more exposure to the judges. It was a bummer that he had to withdraw from Nepela, as some of the early kinks in judges' perceptions could have been worked out. Case in point, between Skate Canada and GP China, his combined PCS magically "improved" by 7 points. While the q calls in free in China were still baffling. I hope his federation sends him to a couple Challengers this season.

 

[cailuj365]

I just wonder how Ilia is going to fare with these two. If all of them skate clean...........whoa!

If Adam, Shoma, and Ilia all skate clean with their current planned layout, then I think it's Adam, Shoma, and Ilia in that order on the podium due to the PCS. Even though I like Shoma's FS, it's definitely a bit of a snooze and not going to get the crowd riled up. Shoma only received 8.86 for presentation today (vs. 9.21 for Adam), and Adam's FS is great in composition/choreography too. Obviously the performance of the day matters, but I can see Adam start to beat Shoma in PCS more and more, especially as he continues to remain technically consistent and put out bangers of performances. The question is whether Ilia increases his TES BV by including more quads to offset his PCS deficit, but there's inherent risks to that too. If Ilia makes mistakes on harder jumps, then his PCS can also go down.

Shaidarov could win 4CC this year depending on who Japan sends. Ilia seems to skip it in favor of galas, which would be a mistake IMO. He should go out to win bigger competitions and get more magic reputation PCS points, which he clearly needs against his other competitors. Sad that I'm even talking about PCS in this way, but we all know that judging is not unbiased, and much is based on momentum.

It's kind of nice that Men's is no longer the 50+ point blowout competition that it used to be in the Nathan Chen era. I mean, i loved Nathan and he deservedly built that lead over his competitors, but this is also way more interesting! If only Formula 1 could be the same way...

 

[snd]

tomono's free was my fave

would love to see a clean version of it

 

[Crowdproud]

Shaidarov could win 4CC this year depending on who Japan sends. Ilia seems to skip it in favor of galas, which would be a mistake IMO. He should go out to win bigger competitions and get more magic reputation PCS points, which he clearly needs against his other competitors. Sad that I'm

How likely is it that Japan would send its B team to 4CC? It seems it's been a recent development, since the pandemic. But I actually like it, since we can see more of the Japanese team at the ISU championships, while allowing more skaters to gain championship points for world rankings.

 

[16Olympics]

I really like Shoma's free - I think it's one of the best choreography to come from Stephane in a while. Adam skated lights out but I still feel like a clean Shoma will best him. At any rate, it's going to be a fun rivalry. I just wonder how Ilia is going to fare with these two. If all of them skate clean...........whoa! My favorite program of the competition, however, was Boyang Jin. Loved his music, loved the choreography, and felt sad that he didn't skate better. He's always been a showman. Overall I thought it was a good competition but, like others, was curious about how some of the judging made sense.

I think Stephane did the short and Kenji did the long but I remember hearing that Stephane picked the music? I like the sp but most of all the Clare de Lune part. The opening music is not my favorite. He was a little slow in the sp but I later heard he said the ice was soft so maybe it was just the ice. Today he was much faster on the ice and in both programs he completed the 4T+3T (!!!!). Since he's only done the long in competition one time, I'm reserving comment about it to wait for further revisions for NHK and JNats except to say....his skating is just sublime and I hope all the talk of him being in skating for 10 years, etc., doesn't mean he or Stephane are done with their partnership or that Shoma is done competing. Adam has just been terrific this season. NHK is going to be hot and the GPF participants are going to be a group worth watching.

 

[TallyT]

Uno is Uno. I love the guy, but if injuries are accumulating, gosh...Hanyu and Uno shows would be something!

Not gonna happen, except for FoI with others or something like that. Shoma can create and underwrite his own if he wants.

 

[kimganos]

tomono's free was my fave

would love to see a clean version of it

I wish he would be consistent! He's such a good skater!